Apparatus for utilizing waste and scrap metal in the production of commercial bars



March 1, 1932. 1. w. AMES 1,847,857

APPARATUS FCR UTILIZING WASTE AND SCRAP METAL IN THE PRODUCTION OF COMMERCIAL BARS Filed Oct. 8, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l ATTORN EY N Ll JMWLI mi IN THE PRODUCTION OF CO Filed Oct. 8, 1929 March 1, 1932.

Patented Mar. l, 1932 UNITED sTATss PAT" ENT ori-ice JAMES W. AMES, or i/IoNTcLAm,4 `NEW JERSEY.

APPARATUS Fon UTILIZING WASTE AND SCRAP rMETAL IN TrIr:- PRODUCTION orY Y' COMMERCIAL BARS Applicationled October 8,.1929. Serial No. 398,130.

This invention relates to the util-ization of waste or scrap metal such as steel beams of various kinds, metal tubing, etc. to produce bars, rods and various structural shapes and 5 the like, and it includesan apparatus as well as a novel method or `processy whereby substantial metal elements, ordinarily treated as waste or scrap, may be vcut into elongated,

fiat pieces in a cold condition so as to beusalf' ble in that condition or to be converted by heating and rolling into commercial rods,

bars or various structural shapes, as well as various other purposes. c

` One object of the invention is the provi- 15 sion of an apparatus which will carry out my method or process of cutting the metal while in a cold condition in an eiiicient and expeditious manner, the resultant parts being available for cutting, slitting and rolling treat- L' ment for conversion into various commercial forms with a minimum expenditure. of time, labor and material.

The apparatus of thisinvention provides a draw bar in association with rotatable cutters :2:- vwhereby a metal element is drawn through the cutters to be severed while 1n a cold condition, suitable mechanisms being provided for properly holding and guidingthe metal element until the cutting operation is complete. n v

To rthe accomplishment of the foregoing and such other objects as may hereinafter ap'- pear, this invention consists inthe construc A jtion, combination and arrangement of parts 3" hereinafter described 4and then sought tobe delined in the appended claims, reference beingh ad to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereofnand which show, merely for u, the purpose of illustrative disclosure, a pre` ferred embodiment of myinvention, it being expressly understood, however, that various changes may be made in practice within the scope of the claims withoutdigressing from my inventive idea.

In the drawings Y kFigure l is a vertical longitu of an apparatus constructed dinal section to embody my l invf-intion and carry out my method and procv 50 ess.

l transverse cross section taken substantially on line 6 6 of Figure l.

I have elected in the accompanying drawl ings and in the following description to disclose my invention as adapted to treat or cony'ert I-beams and other similar structural shapes into elongated elements or parts suit-, v able for conversion into various commercial` forms; itis to be expressly understood that the invention is not to be restricted to treat-v ing this class of material only, but that the apparatus and the method is adaptable to treating and handling other forms of metal.

` Referring now tothe drawings l designates a housing of any suitable or appropriate form and 2 and 3 designate shafts supported and mounted in said housing, adjustment being provided by the screws 4 operating journal boXes 5 for the shafts. Cutters 6 are secured to each of said shafts in opposed relation. The forni of cutters shown is of disc shape with kthe bevelled cutting edge Y and attached to the shafts by means of the :unitary hub 8.'v For slitting an I-beam i 9 such as illustrated, by way of example, it is rnecessary to use two sets er pairs of such l cutters, two on the top shafta'nd two on the lower, and to adjust thesecutters on the shafts so as to cut orslit the web l0 'of the beam` 9 asclose as possible to the flanges 11 thereof. AThis almost entirely eliminates a' rib or web unitary with the flanges when the latter are separated from the web and thereby produces iianges Without a rib and also 'a fiat plate member of the maximum width from the waste or scrap metal element.

As lshown in Figurel of the drawings, the shafts 2 and 3 are parallel and spaced apart a sufficient distance to enable t le draw bar 12, to be presently described, to move freely in the space between said shafts and also between the two pairs of cutters. These cutters are fiXedly and adjustably secured to the shafts so as to rotate therewith and perform the sole function of slitting or grooving the metal. 'To that end they are mounted idly so that they do not operate to feed the metal, the feed being accomplished by the pull of the draw bar 12 on the rear end of the metal element being treated.l

In the feeding` operation this nieta-l element 9 is supported for proper movement upon a plurality of transverse rollers 13 suitablymounted between elongated frame members 14. These rollers are mounted in such a position as to support the metal element 9 by its flanges to present the same properly tothe cutters for the cutting action, This has reference to the yhorizontalplane of operation. Of course, it is necessary that the metal element be presented to the cutters in proper line or in proper alignment and to that end I provide a feeding carriage 15. This is supported by grooved wheels 16 to move freely and idly along the tracks 17 which may be formed as part of the frame. This carriage carries on its under side a pair of clamping and holding arms 18 pivotally mounted to the carriage as at 19 and provided on their outer ends with the rounded holding or engaging members 20. As indicated in dotted lines, these arms are adapted to be moved from open to closed position simultaneously and to the same degree. 'hese arms engage the sides of the metal element 9 being treated and, therefore, position the saine centrally of the apparatus and in proper alignment to the cutters. In order to accomplish this simultaneous and uniform movement of the two arms 18, I provide elongated screw member 21 suitably supported beneath the ca riage and having boi; menil `bers 22 provided with screw-threaded portions V23 to engage the right and left-hand threads of the screw 21 and to be moved there by in opposite directions and to the saine degree when the screw 21 is rotated. These box "y membershave Tshaped guiding elements 24 connected thereto which slide between the spaced guides 25 suitably secured to the under side of the carriage so that the box meinbers will always move in a straight line transversely across the carriage. To each guiding element 2a I attach angular braclret 26 having a horizontal flange 2'? to receive the pivot element 28 which connects the rear or inner end 29 of arms 18 to said bracket 2G and, therefore, to saidA sliding box membei- 22. It is seen, therefore,vthat by rotation ofA the screw 21 the arms 1S will be opened and closed simultaneously and uniformlyV whenever necessary. These parts are operated .to clamp the sides of the metal element 9, be-

ing treated, with suflicient friction so as to move or pull the carriage as a whole along with the metal element as it passes through the cutters.

rIhe draw bar 12 is connected to a suitable travelling carriage 30 on which is pivoted a dog V31 which is' adaptedV to engage the links of a chain 32 suitably mounted and driven on the draw bench 83. This dog'lias the projecting arm Sil-which isadapted to engage the trip member 35 when the draw bar reaches the outer limit of; its movement soasto automatically release the draw bar from the driving chain.

'It will be understood that in slitting metal shapes of this character the side flanges will have a tendency toliare or bend outwardly and take up a considerable space. In order to prevent this I provide the guiding carriage S6 which is supported upon grooved Vwheels 37 to run upon the trac 'rs 38.' The carriage is in the form'of a channel 3,9l of suhicient width to support metalelenients of the maximum size and having the side flanges l0 of sufficient height to properly hold the spreading and bending side port-ions, as indi-v cated in ligurel2 of the drawings'. In 'operation, this carriage is positioned adjacent the cutting discs .so that when lthe flanges of the metalel'ement arevrseveredand spread outwardly, the ends thereof will engage the side flanges 40` of theV carriage 36 .and move the carriage along its tracks 38, whereby the 'carriage constitutes a movableholding means, for the severed flanges of the metal element. The side flanges ofl the carriage are formed or provided with grooves or-recesses or projections orv any suitable form of irregularity against which the ends ofthe out material engage so asto positively move the carriage. In starting the operation, the beam 9 is placedV upon the transverse rollers 13 andthe draw bar 12 is connected to the rear end of the same, the arms 18 being clampedagainst the sides of the rear end of the beam. Power being applied toA the draw bar, the bar is moved into Acooperative relation to the cutters andthe side flanges severed therefrom, the carriage 15 moving along with the I-beam. Thesevered flanges spread out and cause'the movement fof the carriage 86 as previously described;

The cold metal is moved between the rotary cutters by a travelling draw bar attachable to the metal, said draw bar acting solely to draw the metal with a travelling motion between `the rotary cutters. The cutters are idle in theirmountings and they are rotated `o-n-.their axes by frictional engagement with the idle motion ofthe rotary cutters, and saidk pulling means imparts motion tothe draw bar with respect to bot-h the rotary cutters and to the pressure mechanism. The drawbar is attachable either to structural shapes or compacted tubes orto any other kind of preusedcold metal adapted for treatment .in thev machine; infact, the draw bar operates on metal of any appropriate character-and independentlyof the adjustments orpositions or the rotary cutters in adapt-ing them for service on diverse 'characters of metal to be slitted and separated.` A .Y In my invention I do not use rolls for eii'ecting the feed motion of the metal. F or cutting' reliance is placed upon disc-like c itters spaced relatively to each other on a sha ft with which the cuttersiare rotatable, and this shait is mounted for rotation idly in` appropriate bearings of a housing. It is preferred to usel two sets of rotary cutters, the cutters ofeach set being above and below the path of the moving metal, and the two sets of cutters are spaced relatively to each other on the respective shafts. rIhe shafts are relatively adjustable to accommodate the cutters to metal of varying cross sectional sizes,`and said cutters are .shiftable on the shafts to regulatel the distance between parallel slits produced on the metal by the rotary actionof the cutters, whereby the cutters may be changed in positions to suit the material to be operated upon and which adaptation is effected regardless of the feed motion to be by the travel of the drawV given to the metal bar. v 1

As shown-in Figures l and2, I provide means for supporting and guiding the web of the I-beam passing through this apparatus. This means includes the transverse bar 4l which is connected to and supported by housing 1. Mounted upon thisbar 4l are a plurality of spaced arms 42 extending rearwardly therefrom and having their ends curved or arcuate in shape as at 48, to lit over a cylin The top surface of these bars is of substan-A tial extent so as to support the web 10 vespecially after the flanges 11 are severed there-*- from. A holding and positioning member is provided above these guiding bars in the form of a channel shaped member 44 havingV its rearward Vend extended beyond the plane of the axes of the slitting discs and slightly turned upward as at 45 to receive thefwebv l() thereunder and between members 42 and 44. This member 44 is adjustably held inl position by means of the screw element 46 -connected to the yoke member 47 slidably mounted upon the angle member 48, which' isconnected to the opposite housings l; `Mein ber=44 is, therefore, adjustable sidewise and also may be raised and lowered, depending upon the thickness of the web. Members 4Q are adjustable sidewise and with relation t'o drical spacer between the cutting discs;

each other. This provides a verysimple and effective means of supporting-the web and preventing it from curling up orbeing deformed in the operation of the machine.

This application is an improvement upon my co-pending application filed July 8,- 1927, Serial No.' 204,205 formethod of and apparatus for utilizing waste metal in the production of commercial bars.

`What I claim is Y l. In combination in an apparatus of the ch rracter described, a. plurality of opposed slitting rolls mounted idly, means for engaging one endof a metal element to properiy guide the saine through said rolls, means for moving said metal element through said idly mounted slitting rolls, and means for holding and guiding the severed parts of said metal element after passage through said slitting rolls. t l f Y 2.7In combination in an apparatus of the character described, a plurality of opposed slitting rolls mounted idly, means for engaging one end of ametal element to properly guide the same through said rolls, said means comprising a. travelling, carriage and a plurality of adjustable arms thereon-adapted to frictionallyengage the end of said metal element, and means for moving said metal element through said idly mounted slitting rolls.

3. In combination in an apparatus of the character described, a plurality of opposed slitting rolls mounted idly,`means for engaging one end of a metal element to properly guide the same through said rolls, said means comprising a travelling carriage and a-plurality of adjustable arms thereon adapted to frictionally engage the end of said metal element, means for adjusting said arms si-j multaneously and uniformly, and means for moving said metal element through said idly mounted slitting rolls. l f Y 4. In combination in an apparatus of the character described, a plurality of opposed slitting rolls mounted idly, means for engaging one end of a metal element to properly kguide the same through said rolls, means for moving said metal element'through said idly mounted slitting rolls, and means tor holding and `guiding the severed parts of said metal element after its passage through said slitting rolls, said last-mentioned mea-ns com-V saine, a cold metal slitting mechanism posi`Y i tioned in alignment ywith 'said `draw bar, a

table for supporting a metal element, the

draw bar being adapted V'to engage one end of the metal element and move the same through said slitting mechanism, a holding parts of the metal ele- Y,

and guiding-carriage movabl'y mounted upon said table and provided with means for engaging the rear end ofsaid metal element, and another carriage movably mounted upon l said dravs bench and` adapted to 'receive the severed portions of said metalelement and be moved along the draw benchby ther severed portions.. Y

6. In combination in an apparatus of the character described, a draw bench including adraW bar andmeans for operating the same,

a cold metal slitting mechanism positioned in `alignment with said draw bar, a table for supporting a metal element, the draw bar being adapted to engage one end of the metal element and move the same through said slitting mechanism, a holding and guiding carriage movably mounted upon said table and provided with means for engaging the rear *end of said metal element, said eng-aging means comprising a pair of arms pivotally connected to said carriage so that their free ends may engage the end of said metal element and means for moving said arms simul- "i taneously and uniformly in both directions,

and another carriage movably mounted upon said draw bench and adapted to receive the severed portions of said metal element and be moved along the draw bench by the severedv portions.

7. In combination in an apparatus of the character described, a draw bench havin-g a draw bar and means for operating the same, a slitting mechanism` a table for presenting 2 an elongated metal element to said slitting mechanism and means movable upon said table for holding and guiding the rear end of said metal element and means movable upon said draw bench for holding and guiding the vsevered `portions of said metal eiement as they leave said slitting` mechanism.

8. In combination in an apparatus of the character described, a draw Abench having a draw bar and means for operating the same,

A a slitting mechanism, a table for presenting menty as lthey leave said slitting mechanism,

said last-ment`ioned means comprising a carn riage havingflanged portions with which the endof said severed portions ofthe metal element engage.

9; In combination in an apparatus vof the character described, la plurality of Iopposed slitting rolls, .means for engaging one end of a metal element for forcing said elementY through said slitting rolls and means asso.- ciated with said slitting rolls and adapted to engage ,part of the metalelement immediate- -'i ly yafter its passage beyond said slitting rolls to support and hold the severed parts of said metal element. l

l0. In combination in an apparatus of the character described, a plurality of opposed slitting rolls, means for engaging one end of a metal element for forcing said element through said slitting rolls and a Aplurality of means associated with said slitting rolls above and below the path of movement of said metal element and adapted to engage part of the metal element immediately afterl its pas-.

sage beyond said slitting rolls to support and hold the severed parts of said metalelement.

llfIn combination in an apparatus of the character described, a plurality of opposed slitting rolls, means for engaging oneend of a' metal element for forcing said element through said slitting rolls and a plurality of means associated with said slitting rolls above and below the path of movement of said metal element and adapted to engage part of the metal element immediately after its passage beyond said slitting rolls to support and hold the severed parts of said metal element, said means being adjustable transversely of the apparatus.

12. In combination in an apparatus of the character described, a plurality of opposed slitting rolls, means for engaging one .endl of a metal element for forcing said element through said slitting rolls, and means lo cated below the path of travel of the metal element to support the severed portion of the? same, including a plurality of supporting bars adjustably mounted transversely of the apparatus and having extended bearing surfaces to hold and guide part of said severed metal element.

13. In combination in an apparatus of the character described, a plurality of opposed slitting rolls, means for engaging one end of a metal element for forcing said element through said slitting rolls, and means associated with said slitting rolls above vthe normal path of travel of said metal element, comprising an elongated member having one end extending between and beyond said rollsJ Vto guide part of said'metal element before entering said rolls. f

le; In combination in an apparatus of the character described, a plurality of opposed slitting rolls, means for engaging one end of a metal element for forcing said element through said slitting rolls, and means associated-with said `slitting rolls above the normal path of travel of said metal element,

comprising an elongated member vhaving one end extendingbetween and beyond said rolls to guide Vpart of saidfmetal element before entering said rolls, and ymeans for raising character described, a plurality of opposed slitting rolls, means for engaging one end of a metal element for forcing said element 125 and lowering said last mentioned member.` l5. In combination in an apparatus of the through said slitting rolls, and means assoiated with said slitting rolls above the normal path of travel of said metal element, comprising an elongated member having one end extending between and beyond said rolls to guide part of said metal element before entering said rolls, and means for adjusting said last-mentioned member transversely of the apparatus.

16. In combination in an apparatus of the character described, a support, a plurality of opposed slitting rolls mounted idly thereon, means for adjusting-said rolls, and means for engaging one end of a metal element to properly guide the same through said rolls, means for drawing said met-al element through said idly mounted slitting rolls, and means for holding and guiding the severed parts of said metal element after its passage through said slitting rolls, said last mentioned means comprising a freely movable carriage provided with upstanding portions adapted to be engaged by said severed parts of the metal element.

17. In combination in an apparatus of the character described, a support, a plurality of opposed slitting rolls mounted thereon, means for engaging the rear end of a metal element for drawing said element through said slitting rolls, and means associated with said rolls and adjacent said rolls for supporting and guiding the metal element in its passage through the rolls, said means including an elongated member positioned above the normal path of travel of the metal element and having one end extending between and beyond said rolls.

18. In combination in an apparatus of the character described, a support, a plurality' of opposed slitting rolls-mounted thereon, means for engaging the rear end of a metal element for drawing said element through said slitting rolls, and means associated with said rolls and adjacent said rolls for supporting and guiding the metal element in its passage through the rolls, said means including an elongated member positioned above the normal path of travel of the metal element and having one end extending between and beyond said rolls, and means for holding and guiding the severed parts of the metal element after passage through said slitting rolls.

19. In combination in an apparatus of the character described, a plurality of opposed slitting rolls mounted idly, means for guiding a metal element through said rolls, means for moving said metal element through said idly mounted slitting rolls, and means'for holding and guiding the several parts of said metal element after passage through said slitting rolls.

20. In a metal cutting machine, a combination of rotary cutters mounted for idlerotary movement, means for imparting a mova slitting mechanism, a table forpresenting Y an elongated metal element to said slitting mechanism, and means movable upon said table for holding and guiding said metal element, yand means movable on said draw bench for holding and guiding the severedportions of said metal element as they leave said slitting mechanism. v

In testimony that I claim the foregoing, I have hereunto set my hand this 2nd day of October, 1929.

, JAMES W. ARIES. 

